Gianaris: GOP Should Remember Tom DeLay Went to Jail Over Redistricting

After a press conference this afternoon, State Senator Mike Gianaris, who heads the Senate Democrats’ campaign efforts, sounded a cautionary note to the Senate Republicans and their redistricting efforts by comparing them to the Former House Speaker who landed in prison.

“Let’s not forget something, Tom DeLay’s headed to jail in Texas because he was mucking around with redistricting in exactly the same way the Senate Republicans are,” he said. “We don’t want to bring Tom Delay politics to New York, the people of New York aren’t going to stand for it, and I don’t believe [the maps] are going to go through in the end.”

When pressed on whether he was specifically suggesting the Senate Republicans could be heading to jail themselves, Senator Gianaris said that he was “merely pointing out that Tom Delay was so interested in manipulating the redistricting process that he crossed the line and is going to jail for it.”

“The Senate Republicans seem just as interested in using the redistricting process in a manipulative fashion. I don’t know if they’ve done the things that he’s done, but nevertheless it’s that drive to put politics over the public interest that’s similar.”